NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi-led government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis has helped it gain trust and bolstered the BJP leader's image among people as the government battled from several contentious issues in the previous months. A slower infection rate and a contained death toll in the 1.3 billion country has earned the government praise for containing the virus.

According to a US-based survey and research firm, Morning Consult, the result showed that Narendra Modi's approval rating has surged from 76% on January 7 to 83% on April 21. Another survey by the IANS- CVoter COVID-19 tracker also showed that trust in his leadership jumped to 93.5% as of April 21 from 76.8% on March 25.

In the last few months, from the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill, National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register that witnessed several sustained street protests for months, to the Delhi street riots, to the economy that is going downtrend, the government's decisions faced backlash from several quarters.

"As the leader with the biggest megaphone, most agile political organization, and the full support of the government machinery, Modi will undoubtedly use the crisis as a way to consolidate his own position while also pinning the blame for India's economic woes on the virus," Milan Vaishnav, director and senior fellow at the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace was quoted saying to Bloomberg.

"Politics in India is in a state of suspended animation -- in that vacuum, Modi's leadership has become even more visible while the center has used this crisis to further centralize decision-making authority," Vaishnav added.

The Prime Minister, who has never addressed the press, amid the pandemic, has made regular televised address asking for the nation's cooperation in the COVID-19 battle.

But, Modi still has an uphill task as millions have lost jobs and small businesses have shut amid the lockdown.

On the road ahead of the lockdown, experts say that the PM will be questioned about a strategy to help the economy back on its feet.

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